A post-surgery infection is now making that
timetable seem optimistic. The Boston Herald
reported Thursday that Brady has had three additional
procedures to contain the infection.

The possibility exists, and the fear is, that doctors
might have to perform ACL revision surgery,
which would complicate his recovery.

"The biggest thing is to find it early and treat it
aggressively," said Dr. John Gladstone, chief of
sports medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. "I
have no knowledge of (Brady's) injury, but it sounds
like they're approaching it to take him back as often
as needed. The joint's infected. So by washing it out
and shaving the loose tissue, they're looking to
eradicate the bacteria from the knee joint."

Brady originally was scheduled to have the
reconstructive knee surgery at Massachusetts
General Hospital but instead had it performed in
Los Angeles. Dr. Neal ElAttrache, a renowned
orthopedic surgeon who has worked with a half-dozen
pro sports organizations, performed the
knee reconstruction.

The fact that Brady's knee has since been drained
three times to contain the infection doesn't necessarily
mean the condition has worsened. Gladstone
said it simply could be an effort to be aggressive in
treating the infection, along with the antibiotics
Brady is being administered.

The idea is to preserve the graft put in place during
the reconstruction. Doctors used Brady's left
patellar tendon to replace the ACL.

Trouble would arise if the graft is compromised
by the infection, which could be the case if the
infection is around the screws in his knee. In that
case, the graft would have to be removed and the
reconstruction would need to be redone.

First, the infection would have to be cured. Then,
Gladstone said Brady likely would have to wait 6-8
weeks before having the second reconstruction surgery,
putting the rehab back to square one.

Since the patellar tendon in the injured leg
already has been used, a graft would have to be created
using the hamstring in Brady's left leg, the
patellar tendon from the opposite leg or a cadaver
graft from an organ donor.

On top of that, a study by the Journal of the Southern
Orthopedic Association, published in 2002,
found that "the results of ACL revision surgery do
not compare favorably with those reported from
primary reconstruction."

Then there's this: "In rare cases, the infection
injures the hard cartilage on the knee and an
arthritic condition can develop," Gladstone
said. "That's pretty rare. If you're aggressive
treating it, there's far less of a chance of that
happening."

A 2006 study by the American Journal of Sports
Medicine, conducted on NFL running backs and
receivers, found that only 80 percent who underwent
ACL reconstruction returned to the NFL.

And of those who returned, only about 33 percent
performed at their pre-surgery level.

"If (the treatment for the infection) works like it's
supposed to work, he's got every chance to do as
well as anyone with his rehab," Gladstone said.

This story first appeared in Friday's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today.